tools

Here in New Zealand we're in the early days of digital TV and many people are buying set-top boxes to receive the new channels. Our telly however, in true kiwi fashion, is bung. The computer monitor I use is bigger and clearer than any TV I've ever owned, so why bother with a new TV and a set-top box when I can buy a TV tuner device for my computer for $80?

One good answer would be that it's taken several hours of geekery to get it working properly, but I enjoy the work and I've learned a lot in the process, so for me it's always worth it. The end result is that one of my PCs is now a media server, and all my other computers can watch TV, and share my music and movie collection, using a great piece of free open-source software called MediaPortal.

I could very easily write a detailed guide here, but in all honesty I would be plundering this fantastic post I found from Quidam, one of the head geeks over at geekzone.co.nz. He details the entire process, with links to his own sources including the excellent guide to setting up MediaPortal from geekzone member cranz and a solution for getting New Zealand programs into the MediaPortal Schedule. Later in the thread, a different, easier solution to this part of the setup is offered, and that's the one I plumped for.

If I'd found Quidam's post first, I'd have been up and running in about 2 hours. As it was, I spent about 10 researching the whole area before finding the geekzone resources, but for $80 I now have Freeview HD TV, with a program guide, time-stretching and all the cool added features of MediaPortal, which is an excellent bit of software, much better than many of it's commercial counterparts. Best of all, I can now use my TV as a source for mogulus. I don't know exactly how yet, but I'm sure I can use this for something mischievous down the line.

Listen to Chelfyn & Wammo chatting about Media Portal on the Radio Wammo breakfast show for Kiwi FM.

Listen to Chelfyn from the g33k show on Radio Wammo for Kiwi FM talking about Google Video, and how to integrate the Mogulus TV station with VJ Tools to make your streaming look as slick as broadcast TV.

A few years ago an edit suite would be a room full of people, high end hardware and expensive software. These have been replaced by desktop and now online editing tools that run through a web browser. Some online tools can resize an image quicker than you can open a desktop design package, and often for free when traditional vendors are still pricing geographically. It is cheaper to fly from London to New York to buy a box of one new software release, even with dinner and the overnight stay, than it is to buy it in the UK.

Click play to listen to MsBehaviour talking about Online Editing tools on Kiwi FM  or Read Online Editing Tools in full at the Big Idea.